Israel Adesanya makes incredible 'Naruto' reference during UFC 276 training

Israel Adesanya never misses an opportunity to draw references from the world of anime. Most recently, the reigning UFC middleweight champion shared one of his training videos, labeling himself as the Naruto character Minato Namikaze.

Israel Adesanya tweeted:

"Call me Minato Namakaze!!"

Here's the tweet:

Minato Namikaze is an extremely significant supporting character in the Naruto universe, one of the most popular anime to ever exist. In the series, he is the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure and a legendary shinobi known for his lightning speed and reflexes that made it impossible for his opponents to act against his next move.

His powers earned him the nickname, 'Yellow Flash of the Leaf Village'. He is also the father of the main protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki.

Adesanya compares himself to Minato Namikaze as he proves himself to be faster than his teammates while training for UFC 276, where he's set to defend his belt against Jared Cannonier.

Adesanya has talked about and referred to the show on several occasions in his UFC career, including his iconic Rock Lee stance against Anderson Silva.

His orange-coloured McLaren 720s Spider is named after another character from the anime, the nine-tailed fox Kurama.

---

Alexander Volkanovski tells Israel Adesanya that he's a Harry Potter fan

MMA fighters are human and are allowed to have their guilty pleasures from time to time. While for some like Paddy Pimblett, it's burgers and beers, for arguably the featherweight GOAT, it is the Harry Potter series.

In a back-and-forth Q&A session on Fox Sports Australia, the two UFC champions discussed a number of non-MMA topics. Israel Adesanya asked Alexander Volkanovski about his favorite movie of all time, and the 145lbs champion said it was the story of 'The Boy Who Lived'.

Alexander Volkanovski said:

"Harry Potter. Some people might think it's weird but it's something I grew up watching, right? So each movie that came out while I was growing up, it was a part of my life! I've got the wands, I've got everything. I've got scars on my head [laughs]. I watch it now with the kids and I know word for word. I just start saying it before they even say their words... I got devastated when the last one finished."

Adesanya chipped in, saying that he has watched till Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is the third movie in the franchise, and was planning on finishing the series. He also revealed that he visited Harry Potter World at Universal Studios.

Watch their conversation below from the 3:55 mark: